Justin Timberlake is responsible for two of the three top catchphrases spawned from Super Bowl halftime mishaps: "wardrobe malfunction" and "Nipplegate" (he gets no blame, however, for Katy Perry's infamous "Left Shark" of 2015).

The "SexyBack" singer returns to the halftime stage Sunday, some 14 years after he exposed Janet Jackson's breast – along with morality fault lines in a country that became unduly obsessed with what seemed more an accident than a stunt.

Timberlake arrives at Super Bowl LII with a chance to reveal something about his character: It might – or might not – be too much to hope for a Jackson cameo. But Timberlake has an opportunity to pay tribute to the superstar he upstaged with his nasty boy antics all those year ago.

The clothing rip seen around the world went viral about a year before YouTube's debut – becoming a peak for TiVo and a headache for CBS amid a flood of complaints to the FCC.

When the 'Shib Sibs' Saw Leslie Jones in the Crowd, They Knew It Would Be a Good Day

Alex and Maia Shibutani were scanning the crowd before their performance in the ice dance competition at the Olympic Winter Games when they saw a familiar face, "SNL" star Leslie Jones. After that, the "Shib Sibs" took the ice and won a bronze medal.

(Published Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2018)

The hoopla seems almost quaint in era where pseudo-celebrities unworthy of citizenship in Jackson's Rhythm Nation launch careers with sex tapes and bawdy Instagram accounts.

Still, the halftime controversy marked a line of demarcation of sorts for Jackson, whose influential career never matched its previous heights.

Meanwhile, Timberlake flourished, becoming a credible actor (most notably in "The Social Network") and a reliably funny "Saturday Night Live" host, while pushing his music far beyond his *NSYNC days.